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Back Road BearsI'm one who sometimes spends days trying to find the 'right' name for a bear once he's finished. I often lay awake at night thinking about bear names.
So then I get to wondering.... am I wasting my time? Driving myself crazy for nothing?
How important is the NAME of a bear when it comes to adoption? Do collectors adopt bears simply because of a name? Do they avoid bears because of the name? Do they even look to see what the bear's name is? Does the name factor into the decision to adopt a particular bear AT ALL???
What do you think? What have your experiences been?
"a bear by kim"i made a bear called belly button fluff once and a lady contacted me after it sold to make one similar with the same name as it was for her husband and that was her nick name for him!
I think it's really important..I am silly enough to be pu t off because of the name....so I spend ages thinking of names for my bears
Oh Daphne....I do exactly the same as yourself... I try hard to find a name that suits the bear and pray that the collectors will like it. I have in the past had a prospective new owner reject a bear simple because they associated the name with a person the really disliked, although they loved the bear!
So in my view yes...I do think it matters. So now I try to avoid popular human names, and look for the more unusal..but I suppose inevitably we are still going to get it wrong from time to time! 
Hugs Yvonne 
YorkshireAs a newbie bear maker (and a broke bear collector), I see myself as a bear watcher and I love 'watching' Ebay (yes I know its sad!) and the first thing I do is see if the face talks to me then I look at the name and I get really dissappointed if the two don't match.
I have changed the name of a bear I bought once because it didn't match, so it isn't the end of the world if not.
I appreciate the time and sleepless nights you've had and I'm sure your customers do too!
Hugs Ali x
BraggAbout BearsOur Bears tend to name themselves! I find that as they are created the name comes to me as the bear evolves....Some of of our bears seem to have the most extraordinary names!
As all our Bears have a little story to tell, the name seems to come first and then the story grows from the name! 
hugs....
Victoria
Posts: 3,540Many of my bears name themselves, either during the 'concept' phase or right after being 'born'. Some however thoroughly stump me, and a very, very few I've sent off without names, asking that the collector tell me the name once they've settled on one. I've only had 2. collectors tell me the name of their bears!! 
I think sadly that the other little bears sit out there with 'no name' as their new moniker, so I've tried harder to be sure every bear goes out with a name.
I've had collectors change the name, or give their little bears 'nicknames' after they've gotten them home. I know they seem relieved when I'm delighted at the new names. I tell them, I've only got the bear for a very short time, they've got them for the rest of their lives
And don't worry Daphne, you're not the only person who spends ages and sleepless nights pondering a bear's 'perfect' name!!! I do it too 
I drive myself crazy trying to think of names I haven't used in the past and names I think are perfect for a particular bear ... I go to bed thinking names and wake up thinking names! AAARRRGGGHHHHH!!!
I've always named my bears .. I'm not sure how important the names have been to collectors, but they are an integral part of the process and for me, a bear isn't finished properly without his name.
Bears by EdieSame here for me - sometimes it seems to be harder and take longer to choose a name than to make the bear. Other times the bear's name just seems to jump right into my head - and those ones are always the names I am happiest with! Certain bears that I made years and years ago I can remember their names instantly looking at a photo and others that made maybe a week or two ago I just can't match up the name and bear anymore!!! - obviously those ones were misnamed in my opinion anyways! It's funny, when I first started making bears I really didn't have any intention of naming them - figured the people who bought them could make up the names if they wanted names but then the first time I had some of my bears appear in a magazine article they wrote underneath each photo - " the artist has not picked a name for this bear yet" - or similar words and I felt so badly that I started naming all my bears after that! I keep a little address book with the names listed in, alphabetically, so it is easy to see if I have used a name already. Sometimes I will reuse a name if it seems perfect for a bear but then I will try to change the spelling of it.
I don't think I would ever not buy a bear I really liked just because I didn't like the name - but I have bought bears because I was taken with the name - and I know some of my collectors have too!
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsI am another artist who ponders bear names at length. I have had people buy bears because the name meant some thing to them. I have also passed up a bear in part because I didn't like it's name. They have to fit together. I think that if someone really wanted a bear and didn't like the name they would get it anyway and change it.
I recently did a "Teddy Talk" to my son's seconde grade class and I was asked, "If you are going to sell them, why do you name them? Don't the people who buy them want to give them a name?" My son LOVES all sorts of stuffed animals and he takes the naming of them very seriously, often taking days to decide. I think kids prefer to name their own.
Back Road BearsI've had a collector or two 'on the fence' about adopting but then have looked at the name or birth date which had a personal connection and there was then NO question about having to adopt the bear!
As a collector I've been turned off by the name a time or two. Some I've felt didn't match the bear... other times it was for personal reasons... not the artist's fault at all.
So, I'm sensitive about names..... and wish I was more imaginative..... I love it when the name makes me smile as much as the personality of the bear!
Whimzee BearsI think names are important and one of my bears sold because of his name (the collector was looking for a bear as a gift for his nephew, and my bear happened to have the same name).
I keep a list of names that appeal to me and add to it as names pop into my head. Sometimes I use the name as inspiration or somtimes the bear I'm making just 'looks' like a particular name.
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsDaphne, I've had a collector for whom the bear's birthdate played a part as well!! 
(actually several times)
Whimzee BearsI think names are important and one of my bears sold because of his name (the collector was looking for a bear as a gift for his nephew, and my bear happened to have the same name).
I keep a list of names that appeal to me and add to it as names pop into my head. Sometimes I use the name as inspiration or somtimes the bear I'm making just 'looks' like a particular name.
FenBeary FolkHi everyone, although I am very new I have to say that names are important to me, I too have laid awake thinking of names for bears I have not even made yet, my latest bear which I will be posting tomorrow on TT just had to be Hamish, he named himself immediately after I had released (cut) him from the material
Unfortuneately my next half made bear has decied that she is going to be Latte Lily (after the very nice coffee wip coloured sparse mohair) I have told her that she sounds as if she has dubious morals but she won't change her mind, however hard I try, I just keep coming back to the same name :crackup:
Past Time BearsI don't give a lot of importance to the name, myself. I had at least one collector buy a bear because of its name. I gave the name "Cayenne" to a dusky, orange-ish red bear and the couple that bought it said they had a daughter by the name of "Cheyenne". Okay. Then a collector bought a bear because it had the same birthday as hers. When I first started making bruins, my source of names was the Dallas phone book. I've used baby name booklets and, more recently, have printed out all the names of Texas towns/cities from the internet and used that. There are a gazillion places to look for names, so I don't agonize too much over them.
Waggle BearsI worry over names, too. I jot names as I think of them for use in the future. Some are really easy to name; it just suits them. Others I leave sitting on a table where I can look at them every day until I settle on a name I like.
I've used baby name books, names from novels I've read, etc. It may be awful to say, but being in the Palm Springs area, there are lots of old people who retire here and I've even gotten a few names from the obituaries. Like Sue Ann said, there are millions of places to find names.
Posts: 3,540:crackup: I love the Latte Lily name!! :crackup:
FenBeary FolkDebbie, so glad you like it but I am not sure I can come up with a coffee swilling trollopes outfit but believe me I am working on it????!!!! :crackup:
PawssiblesI too think the name of a bruin can help sell the bear. Sometimes choosing the right one takes awhile. One time it comes so easy, you just look at the bear even before it's finished and a name pops into head, other times it never seems to come. That's bearmaking, creating, it goes on and on.....
Hugs,
Jo
Bear Paws by RoxanneI too am guilty of researching to find the perfect name... 
Like when it comes to a dog I made, for instance if it was a border collie. I find where they originate from, the Scotland England border. Then go to "baby names" and find Scottish and English names. I just about do it everytime....
Hmm, good question, Daphne. I love that artists give names to their bears. I think the face and how the bear looks is the most important thing. But I do think names are important and can put you over the edge to buy one. I'm not too good with thinking of names so I won't change them. I've only changed the name of one bear I bought and was worried about telling the artist. But she was fine with it. And with the one commission bear I had made, I already had the name planned and told the artist because the bear was in memory of my grandfather. I also think the name can really make the bear - it completes the bear. Like your Bluebeary - I loved the name and thought it really completed him. Of course, I also liked Bluebeary's looks.
I've bought a bear (ok, more than one) because of the name but I also have to like the bear. If I don't like it, then I won't buy it. I always check to see what the bear's name is.
Hope this answers some of your questions.
Seamore CollectiblesI usually don't pick out the name.
My daughter places the bear at the bottom of her bead and ponders at it or moves it around the house until the right name comes to her.
And this may simple be the head when it's not even attached to the body yet..
Dolls N DreamsI think the right name for a bear is very important, I sometimes drive myself crazy thinking of a name. LOL
Usually I think of a cute name and design the bear, colors etc around the name!
BruinwerksIt depends...sometimes I like the bear and if I like the name its just icing on the cake but often I don't even look to see what the name is right away. I did buy a bear once because his name was Orris which is really unusual and also my Dad's name!
I went through a period where I encouraged my customers to name the bear but one lady said to me that she thought that was terrible...did I not name my own children? I remember thinking "Yes, I do, but I'm not in the habit of selling my children!" 
I was watching some home improvement show the other day and the guest's name was "Chloe Galillee" and I know I will use that one day for sure!
Cheryl
